Story of the Barn
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The story of the barn and wheel fence
Frank Wolf, whose family still farms in Uniontown, built the barn in 1935 for Jack Dahmen and his family who used it for a commercial dairy operation until 1953 when it was purchased by his nephew Steve Dahmen and wife Junette. Both Steve and Junette had an interest in fine art for years. Junette has been working as an artist since the early 1980s, and Steve has made a public display of his artistic skills by building the surrounding wheel fence over a 30 year period. It all started with his building a gate of rake tines, and after friends began contributing wheels, the fence quickly grew. Says Junette Dahmen in a history of the wheel fence, "Every wheel has a story from the smallest to the biggest. There are wheels from every kind of machine, an antique baby buggy, threshing machines, push-binder wheels, sidewinder or delivery rakes, old hay rakes and gears of every kind, large and small." Today the fence exhibits over 1000 wheels. Steve also designed the antique weather vane and installed it on the barn roof in 1990, and fashioned some metal "greeters" - a farmer holding a pitchfork and nippers, and a wire-eared dog you meet as you approach the entrance to the barn. The barn and the surrounding fence have become a landmark attracting artists and photographers from afar. Its image has appeared in many publications, including National Geographic.
Volunteers made this ambitious project happen
The Uniontown Community Development Association (UCDA), a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation governed by an 11 member board of community volunteers, had set up a public development authority to do a similar historic renovation project in Uniontown, the Sage Baking Company, in 2002, and the Dahmens liked the result. So, without heirs, and not having the ability to maintain the structure, Steve and Junette donated the barn to the UCDA in 2004 with the stipulation that it be stabilized, maintained and put to a community use. UCDA carefully considered options for the use of the barn. An economic development consultant hired by the Town of Uniontown in 1995 reported that an art and craft retail operation should do well in town, so the possibility of an art center was explored. The Palouse is known to have many, many talented people working at their arts and crafts in their homes, with little way to market their products, so the board of directors took on the challenge. Junette Dahmen, an oil and watercolor artist, was thrilled. A feasibility study was done, and the board found enthusiasm for the idea, so work began in earnest. Constructive Solutions was hired to work on the design of the interior space of the building. The exterior was to remain as close to original as possible because of its historical significance. The wind had swayed the barn to the east and the north over the years and the foundation on its west side was effectively non-functional. A creative solution was needed to bring the leaning structure back to plumb, and to stabilize it. Fearless Engineering from Missoula, Montana, took that challenge and came up with a beautiful system that allows the vaulted roof of the barn to remain untouched and intact inside. It is a piece of artwork in itself.The first task was to clean out the old barn. It had decades of pigeon droppings on the second floor and lots of old, broken equipment. The ground floor, which was several different concrete levels for dairy barn use, had to be removed. This work was done by very dedicated volunteers. Board vice-president Gene Dixon began a photo documentary of the project during the clean-out phase. Marv Entel of RESSCO, local general contractor, rolled up his sleeves and began the reconstruction. Marv had worked with UCDA on the Sage Baking Company project. Dale Miller, president of UCDA, used his grant writing skills to obtain several hundred thousands of dollars for the project. These funds were added to the private donations of cash, labor and materials to get the project done. The facility has no mortgage thanks to the help of many, many people, agencies and organizations. This was truly a labor of love by the community for this old barn. Special construction features in the barn include: a hot water radiant heating system in the ground floor's concrete slab; two restrooms designed to be fully handicap accessible, and space for a future elevator which ended up being installed in 2008 with a grant from USDA Rural Development. The contractor volunteered his time to tear down two old deteriorating barns to reclaim boards for finishing the interior of the Dahmen Barn. The ground floor has the retail store, several artisan studios, classroom space and a restroom. The second level has more studio spaces, another restroom, a kitchen for tenants' use and the Hay Loft Hall which is used for monthly exhibits and large gatherings. On a third level, the space above the studios on the west and north sides is a balcony where more art is displayed. UCDA was active in developing and promoting the educational programs and performances held at the barn in order for the participating artisans to be successful. In 2009, a separate 501(c)3 non-profit corporation was set up to operate the Barn and its programs.The grand opening of the facility was held on October 1, 2006. Those who attended heard several music groups who would be playing concerts or dances in the future, and saw the work of many instructors of the first year's classes. Junette Dahmen drew the winning ticket for the quilt made by Uniontown's master quilter Sharon Dixon. Sharon donated 275 hours to design and construct the beautiful piece, which features Palouse colors and the barn itself in the center.
Managing the construction
The management of the renovation work was provided by Marvin Entel, RESSCO, LLC. Assistance was provided by:Atlas Concrete, Sand and Gravel Becker Insulation Bill & Juanita Kinzer Columbia Paint Dan Irby Dave Entel Dave Vincent Early Bird Supply E.H.S. Electrical E-Z Rentals Greg Entel Hahn Supply Inland Telephone J & J Construction & Design Lightening Heating and Cooling Maurice Moneymaker Mike Fauver Philip Entel Pullman Appliance Quality Concrete Rick Dudley Roach Construction Robert & Renee Larabee Robert Lane R & R Cable Company Sam Kimble Seaport Glass and Windows Shaun O'Kelley Steve's Welding Stewart Warner Tim McCarty Roofing Tom Heitstuman Touch of Glass United Rentals Designers were:Constructive Solutions Fearless Engineering Elliott Engineering
A myriad of Uniontown community people donated over 5200 hours to get this ambitious project done. As of January 2011, funds donated by individual supporters and the creative fund raising efforts of the board of directors totaled $70,744. The value of donated materials, equipment and professional services was $72,935, and grants from foundations and programs brought in $352,589.In 2009, a separate 501(c)3 organization was created for the operation of the Dahmen Barn, leaving UCDA with the responsibility for the structure and capital improvements.Donations, always tax deductible, are welcome for capital projects as well as barn operations. See the Sustaining the Barn page for more details.
2010 brought completion of the interior work
The last project on the interior was done January of 2010 with the installation of the finish floor material in the Hay Loft Hall and the 3rd floor balcony. Once again, many hours of volunteer labor went into the project. There were 72 sheets of underlayment that required 2000 nails each before the new flooring could be installed.We have been able to rent the studio spaces as soon as they were ready for occupancy and have had very little turn over, so we maintain a waiting list. A fiber artist who wished studio space right away volunteered her labor to finish out the inside of the milk house building so she and a friend could rent it. The Milk House Fiber Studio opened fall of 2010.
As of 2011 we are bursting at the seams!
The size of the space dedicated to classes and workshops has limited enrollment and the type of class we can offer.In the shop, Julie has had to decline new consignment artists because she doesn't have the room for any more inventory.The Hay Loft Hall is too small for adequate seating at some of our music events, so people have been forced to stand on the balcony and look over the railing.We have artists who would like space in the Barn, but we cannot accommodate them.We began working with Hutchison and Maul, two architects from Seattle, who have volunteered their time to help us come up with a solution to our space problems. Meetings with both boards of directors and the resident artists are guiding their design solutions.Finishing and enlarging the loafing shed that is behind the Barn is part of the plan for expansion that will allow the Barn programs to flourish and also include displays of agricultural life on the Palouse.In 2012 UCDA received a coveted grant from the National Endowment for the Arts which provides some funds for Hutchison and Maul to complete the design for expansion. Fund raising continues for the actual construction.
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